Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-07-10
now TO nus A TUNNEL.
Interesting Facts About the Dig Cut
Through Jersey city.
New York Mail and EXPIRES,

Familiar sights 10 travellers on the
Erie railroad are three signal-towers
near the eastern end OF the big tunnel
that piorces jersey City Heights. In
one of these towers, busily at work at
bis desk, reporter yesterday found
Tunnel. Superintendent o. s. Conk-
ling, who has held his present place
eighteen years, and has been with the
company twenty-six years.
d" 70 you want to know something
about the tunnel and how we run it,
eh?" he said, after the reporter hal
explained the objecto hisyisit. "Well,
If you don't mind the racket of trains
rushing by here every five minutes or
less, sit down and I'll try TO oblige you.
How many trains 90 through the tun-
mel in day? Just $40. Each train
takes two and half minutes to -
through. and only one train going each
way is allowed in a tunnel at a given
time. The exact length Of the tunnel
is seven eighths OF mile, and it Is a
mile between the signal-towers at one
end and those at the other. The tun-
mel was finished in 1861. Night and
day, the year round, four men pa
troll the tunnel. Two are on
duty in the daytime and two at
night. The day patrol start work
one man from each end-at o'clock in
the morning. Every hour after this
they inspect the tunnel in the slme
way. Zach carries a bright lantern.
and registers when he arrives at the OBJ
posite end Of the tunnel. These men
keep a lookout for anything unusual.
Besides this. once every week the tun-
mel is examined thoroughly by gang
Of nine men called "roof-men. They
90 through on a platiorm-car and are
supplied with torches, steel bars, AMI
hammers They examine every inch
of the roof. and very rarely find even
scale Most Of the tunnel is OF
arched brick and French preparation
harder than rock itself. This inspec-
ton is made every Friday night after
II o'clock. First one track is gons
over and then the other.
A REMARKABLE RECORD.
Accidents No, not single acct
dent has happened in there since the
signal boxes we're put up in 1861. In
that year theIs were no signalsS The
way We used TO run it was this After
train had gone in and had been out OF
sight five minutes we would let another
one Roin The result was that one LAY
passenger train was delayed AMI a
freight train ran into it. The only per
son hut was boy, and he not very bad
", l believe. After that the present
system of signals was established. Now
I'll tell you how this works. Say train
is coming from New York. Itmnst
first come to a dead stop about l,0J)
feet from the signal-towers then
the signal shows that the tunnel
is clear and the train starts
up and enters tho tunnel. We
use the interlocking system OF switches
and signals. There are three signal
posts ut each end of the tunnel, with
movable arms or ssmiphores, and d
soon as a train is in there the arms 90
up to n position at right angles with
the posts and stay there until w r.
COVE an electric signal from tho ~cst
end OF the tunnel that the train his
passed out. The electric signal rDy,
bell III this sigBal-tower. This sign
lics that the west-bOund track IS Clelr.
But if it was found that the train vent
Though the tunnel in less than tTo
minutes We would not allow the next
train to proceed until we had a5cer-
tained by telegraph that all OF the PIE
ceding train had passed out. But 10
positively avoid any danger, through
the breaking of q coupling andac1r b.
ing left in the tunnel, no signal is sent
from one end of the tunnel to the other
that all is clear unless the train that
Las Just come through displays rcd
light in the rear platform OF the last
car. Ii no signal comes back after the
usual two and ono half minutes have
elapsed, the train next to 80 IN on that
same track is held fifteen minutes, AMI
is then allowed to proceed with ga
caution" This means that the eng
noer is to be notified that no signal
was received from the last train. He
is to nun slowly, and if, after his train
has gone in, the electric signal does not
ing two bells (Which would signify
that the last train had gone througha!l
right, no more trains are allowed in
the tunnel until it has been personally
inspected. Eut this very rarely hap
pens.
"Don't you set lonely here some
fines ~
Not bit Of it. We have no time
10 get lonesome or to 10 any foOllng
here. and a man has got to keep his
head clear and level all the time. /
have for my assistants men who have
been here twelve, fourteen, AMI tii-
teen years, and at the west end the two
signalmen have been there since the
tunnel was built. They work twelve
hours day"
"Vas any one ever killed il the
tunnel?"
"Not through any accident, as
have said, but two or three bodies have
been found in there by the patrol.
They were those of men who 1t was
supposed had fallen from trains. The
tunnel used to be lighted by lamp
five hundred feet from the entrance,
and another one thousand feet, bat tie
new sienal-lights are six hundred feet
from the entrance, and stationary lights
to notify the engineer of distances.
"Is the tunnel straight ?"
"You wouldn't think person could
see clear through it, looking ut 1t as It
is now, black and full of smoke, would
YOU? But it's fact all the same.
When there is a strong west wind blow
ing ihesmoke is all driven ont and
can often see through it and the green
bills beyond. My window here in this
signal-tower at such time takes in tins
view perfectly. Speaking about sig
mails. the company is about to adopt au
electric clock to take the place OF
the signal bells. The rails and
switches are to be connected by
electric wires, which will make
circuit. When the engine strikes
the connection, which will be at
the beginning of the signal-post
next to the tunnel. and the engine and
tender have passed over it, the electric
current will cause the semiphore or
arm to give the danger-signal. This
viii remain at danger until the train
leaves the circuit Mt the other end OF